Amor EX Anima
by PoeticShadows
Summary: Shiva has never been content with how the Astrals have played their hand. Leaving Ardyn to his fate and expecting Noctis to die for their mistakes. So she presents Noctis with a choice: move onto the Astral realm or travel back 2000 years as a Messenger tasked with saving Ardyn. Leaving everything he is familiar with to save the man lost to fate. (This is a Ardynoct fic)
1. Prologue

Silence all consuming; not a whisper nor breath could be heard. Neither could a definitive temperature be named nor solid surface be found and yet none of that concerned Noctis at the moment. He only felt confused about why he was standing at the Astral gate instead of the fabled Astral planes. What could possibly be asked of him now? What more could he possibly have to give?

The voice that answered him both comforted and frustrated Noctis. "You have something more valuable than words can express, young King. I have brought you here because there is a story to tell, a request to make, and a question to ask should you wish to listen..."

Noctis pondered those words a moment; he knew Shiva would not keep him from the afterlife without good reason. Soon his curiosity began to outweigh any confusion and frustration he felt at the situation. Of all the Astrals, she and Ramuh had been fair to him; granting him aid willingly and without trial. So, making his decision, Noctis nodded decisively, "Alright, I'll listen, but I can't promise anything beyond that."

Shiva appeared before him as an icy haze and her voice emanated from within it. "I would not expect you to promise me anything more, young King, I have no right to ask what I am about to. After all we have done, all we have demanded of you, there is nothing you owe us... yet I must make an attempt."

Shiva took a deep breath then began her story, "As you know, 2000 years ago a incurable Scourge was unwittingly unleashed by my brother, Ifrit, which spread swiftly across Eos. Ravaging mankind and twisting innocents into the monsters that came to be known as Daemons. The first king of Lucis was once considered the savior of all; he was to be the original King of Light, for only he could cure others of the Scourge and stop the darkness' blight. However, the price of his magic was great and his body soon became a host to many Daemons. Though countless lives were spared by his actions, the Crystal rejected him upon attempting to gain it's true power. He turned to the darkness in the end which you know from legends of the past and yet... do you truly know Ardyn Lucis Caelum's story?"

Noctis' first answer would have been yes; after all the hero turned villain story was fairly straightforward. And yet... "I remember Ardyn asking me if I knew how long he had been forced to live in darkness. I didn't really understand what he meant, but after everything Bahamut spoke of, I couldn't help feeling like I was ending his pain by fulfilling the Prophecy... freeing him from that darkness. Izunia also spoke of some kind of curse upon his brother..."

The haze seemed to grow a little brighter and Shiva's melodious voice echoed from within. "The source of the Scourge you hate, and Ardyn Lucis Caelum, are two different entities that lived within the same body; bound tightly at the soul. The question I have for you is, are you ready to hear the truth of how that came to be?"

Taken aback by Shiva's words, Noctis' mind whirled at the possibilities; however, there was only one way to know for sure what had happened and Noctis definitely wanted to know... "Yes, I am ready to listen."

Somehow, Shiva's mist like form seemed to settle more comfortably as she spoke, "Very well then... Ardyn was only 18 years old when he took a portion of the Solheim dynasty and, after many great battles, turned it into the Kingdom of Lucis. Niflheim has always been bitter about losing out on Lucian territory and hostilities between your nations have existed for millennia. Despite all the bloodshed and spread of the Scourge, Ardyn never stopped healing those who needed it; enemy and ally alike. He loved his subjects dearly and I can honestly say Ardyn became the most loved King in history. Six years after the creation of Lucis, the five of us agreed to present Ardyn with the Crystal. Our hope was that, with our individual blessings, it would accept him. Together we would destroy the Scourge for good; we hoped to name Ardyn the King of Light and sent him on his journey with high hopes…"

Her tone turned bitter and she sighed deeply, "Here lies the beginning of our mistakes, one in particular that I can never forgive myself for, no matter how much time passes. When we granted the Crystal to Ardyn, we told him to seek a covenant with each of us in order to awaken our power and be granted our blessings. However, we never explained what the Crystal was or how to find out its secrets. Nonetheless he did what we asked with a willing heart and proved that we had chosen well."

"But he failed in the end," Noctis pointed out tiredly.

"Ardyn fell prey to his kind nature and naive heart; something that is as much a weakness as it is his strength. Over time, as he took in more darkness, Ardyn became weakened under the relentless power of the Scourge and without knowledge of the Crystal's cleansing power he became incredibly vulnerable to its influence. During the final leg of his journey on his way back home, Ardyn healed an old man who was blighted. However, the Daemon he took into himself was no ordinary Daemon..."

Noctis could see where this was going and finished the Astrals sentence. "It was the source, the Scourge itself."

"Indeed, King Noctis, the King of the Underworld and the one who used Ifrit like a puppet. He is a Daemon who calls himself Malum and is cunning to the highest degree; though not infallible. Because of Malum's presence within him, the Crystal rejected Ardyn when he attempted to seek its final blessing. Because such a holy creation had rejected him, the people he loved with all his heart began to fear that their king had been corrupted. At first, they attempted to sacrifice him to appease the Crystal, but Izunia stepped in and Ardyn was exiled instead. Seeing the weakness of Ardyn's spirit, Malum attempted to wrest control from him and use him as a puppet. However, when Ardyn realized what was happening, he tried to take his own life in a last ditch effort to save the world and those he still loved..." Shiva's voice broke in a suppressed sob and her glow dimmed alarmingly.

Horror as he realised what must come next spread through Noctis. "Bahamut turned him away, here, at the Astral gates. That's why he was immortal."

The blue mist seemed to almost absentmindedly shift slightly closer to the swirling gate. "Yes… he barred his way, for Bahamut feared that Malum would obtain access to the Astral realm if he let Ardyn pass on into the afterlife. So he cast the dice of fate and sealed your own doom with the creation of a new prophecy, the revelation of Bahamut. It may have been necessary, but doing so was also the mistake that sealed our fate. Turning the next fabled King of Light, yourself, into a sacrificial lamb while Ardyn was cursed to live with the burden of the Scourge he hated. In the end Malum took over Ardyn's soul and all the former King could do was use what strength remained to him to hold the majority of the Deamon's powers at bay."

Horror and fear weighed upon Noctis in equal measure as he asked the question he dreaded the answer to. "If he was so intimately intertwined with Malum… then what happened to Ardyn when I destroyed the Scourge with the Ring and Crystal?"

All was silent a moment, then Shiva responded and a truly terrible sorrow weighed her words, "When you finally defeated Malum and gave your life doing so, it is likely you destroyed Ardyn's soul. He will have paid the ultimate price because we did not guide him as we should have… I was so sure he would understand… so now I ask your aid in setting this to rights, King Noctis."

Self condemnation fought with hope as Noctis attempted to steady himself emotionally. "How... how exactly do you plan for me to set something like that to rights? I destroyed an innocent man, Shiva! Besides, what can I possibly do to help you; I died, did I not?"

Noctis could feel it get colder and Shiva quietly said, "Calm yourself, Noctis, there is yet hope for Ardyn. While it is indeed true that you have passed on from being considered a mortal that fact will be more help than hindrance. I would have Umbra send you into the past, permanently, to become my Astral Messenger. Tasked by me with guiding Ardyn and teaching him about the Crystal in ways not even we can. Time has never been messed with to this degree, doing so will likely change a great many good things that happened. Yet, I refuse to believe it was worth the soul of one of the purest humans to walk this earth. I have given voice to mine request, told the story lost in time, and made my offer; what say you now, King of Light?"

Noctis was silent for a long time, lost in endless thoughts. He could go back, truly get to know who Ardyn was, prevent the prophecy which spelled his death and save a lot of strife from happening. However, he would also be making sure to rewrite the entire history of Lucis and those he loved might never be born. Then he thought of the look Ardyn had given him as he lay dying...it had been so tender, so full of care, like in that second he was the most precious person in the world. There was also Ardyn's empty promise of seeing each other in the Beyond, for if his soul had been destroyed then he certainly wasn't waiting for him beyond the gate... yes, Noctis knew his answer. "I cannot accept a history that is born from the suffering of a innocent… so I will see Ardyn succeed this time. Will he accept my help though?"

Shiva's spirit or whatever it was seemed to glow brightly as she responded in her usual strong and clear voice, "The rest of my self is already in the past explaining things to Ardyn, although he is far from unfamiliar with the enigmas of time. He was only given the Crystal a month prior and is only a day into his journey to seek the first covenant. He knows you are an Astral messenger and from the future and Ardyn is also aware you were once a King of Insomnia who will teach him about the Crystal. Needless to say, you are likely to find a rapt audience for your words as Ardyn is quite excited. Expect to be bothered for his curiosity knows no bounds."

Then, to his left, a dog barked and looking that way Noctis saw Umbra trotting up. "Are you ready, King Noctis."

Taking a deep breath, the new Astral messenger nodded, "Yes, I am."

"I do not know what effects sending you this far back in time will have upon your spirit. Be cautious King Noctis and good luck to you; may your instincts guide you truly."

With one last bark Umbra vanished and bright blinding light hit Noctis with the force of a Behemoth, then all was nothingness once more.


	2. Introductions At Camp

Deep seated and aching pain suffused Noctis' entire being when consciousness finally returned to him. In the past, Noctis had prided himself on his pain tolerance, but now he only felt a fervent desire for unconsciousness once more and its merciful embrace. It felt as though he had been pulled apart from the inside out and then Prompto had tried to glue him back together again. In short, Noctis felt like he had been through hell. He didn't even know he could feel this bad and technically still be dead. Obviously, somehow, it was indeed possible.

There was a soft warble of a Chocobo beside his head and, upon convincing his hand to respond, he reach out towards the comfortingly familiar sound. He was unsurprised to feel feathers about a foot from his face and a smile twitched at his lips. Then a light, mirthful voice spoke up from above him. "Please, pardon Rose's proximity, for she has become quite taken with you I'm afraid. In fact, I have had to keep her from sitting on you a couple times now, but that is of little importance; how are you feeling, my friend?"

The realization that his head was laying in Ardyn's lap was nowhere near as mortifying as a Chocobo having tried to mother him, twice. Still… it was definitely not the way he would have preferred to meet this Ardyn for the first time. He had imagined something a little more regal and messenger-esque… or at least something that would give Ardyn the impression that he was worth learning from. The fact that he was in horrible pain notwithstanding, Noctis knew that there were certain protocols for meeting fellow royalty… and having to be saved from a Chocobo of all things was definitely not part of it.

After taking a few deep breaths, Noctis finally found the wherewithal to murmur an inelegant but intelligible answer. "I feel like shit." Which wasn't the most politically correct answer either, but honestly, Noctis couldn't give a Astral forsaken damn at this point.

There was a long drawn out hum from Ardyn and when he responded, Noctis could tell the man was a little confused. "I take it that… ' _shit'_ is a future terminology for I have never heard its use in this age. However, I imagine due to your inflection, it is negative term and you are not feeling well for one reason or another. Taking that into consideration is there anything I can do to help you feel better? I am a healer of some renown and I would see you in good health once more... although I do not know what ails you as I can see no wounds and you have no fever..."

Noctis mentally slapped himself at the slip up, of course _'shit'_ would not have been inducted into the Lucian language system yet. He would need to watch his vocabulary in the future, but damn if he just didn't give a honest fuck right at this moment. Noctis groaned loudly and gripped Ardyn's pant leg tightly as a wave of nausea hit him, "Just, just give me some time, alright?" Noctis grunted through clenched teeth.

As he said the word _'time'_ Noctis suddenly realized why he was feeling so poorly. Before Umbra has used his unique talent, Shiva had warned him that she had no idea how going this far into the past would affect him. If that was the problem, then Ardyn truly could do nothing for him, although, as a wave of pain radiated from his head, Noctis fervently wished that it was not the case. He supposed he should feel lucky it hadn't destroy him although, considering how he felt, it had tried very hard to do just that.

Noctis knew his answers must have been confusing for the poor man he was currently using as a pillow; thankfully Ardyn was being remarkably patient with him given the strangeness of the situation. It still didn't change the fact that Noctis needed to make an effort to communicate better and in a way that Ardyn would understand. Ignis' lessons and lectures on protocol resounded loudly in his head for once as he took a steadying breath; Noct knew eye contact was very important, but so far his eyelids felt all but glued shut.

With a behemoth effort, Noctis opened his eyes, noticing as he did so that it was still dark outside. After a short moment of panic, he realised it was a darkness that felt much more welcoming than the darkness he had left in his time. For one thing there were lots of stars in the sky along with a full moon which had definitely been absent in his time. For another there was a fire crackling in the center of the haven and it's warmth reminded Noct of more positive times with his brothers. Memories that no longer held any significance in the reality of the world, but would always be precious to him.

Ardyn's gasp brought his wandering thoughts back to his current reality, wondering if something was wrong. Suddenly there was a finger hovering just over one of his eyes and, trying not to flinch, Noctis looked warily up at Ardyn. He was holding his breath as the young King traced around his left eye, the calloused finger was very gentle though, and Noctis allowed himself to relax a little bit. In a distracted tone Ardyn said, "I've never seen this shade of blue before… good messenger your eyes are truly a sight to behold..."

Noctis was more than a little taken aback by his words and, although he would never admit it out loud, a little flattered by the complement. He could not help noticing that Ardyn's own amber eyes, when not filled with hate or pain, made him feel warm and… somehow safe. There were other marked differences in the man's appearance, but his eyes bore the greatest change; a soul unfettered and free. Letting go of his held breath in a rush Noctis answered, "I could say the same about your eyes… I've rarely seen that color in another... they are striking."

Ardyn looked very taken aback, blinking several times at him in genuine astonishment. "Now surely you jest good messenger for I have seen my color in many others besides myself. I have personally inherited this rather dull set from my father. Yes, I fear you are much mistaken in this particular matter..." Ardyn trailed off with a bright smile.

Noctis could not help the snort that left him, apparently, Ardyn was still quite the eloquent charmer when he wished to be; at least that much had not changed. He did notice that the more he talked to Ardyn the easier his pain became, so he carried on with the subject. "Amber eyes may be common now, but they are almost non-existent in my time; therefore my statement still stands."

"So you truly are from 2000 years in the future then? Not that I doubt Lady Shiva's words, but... such a large gap is incredibly difficult to fathom."

A rueful chuckle escaped Noct's lips and he said, "It's probably not as difficult to fathom it as it is to travel that span. That's why I'm flat on my back in your lap, it's… a painful process, you know how it goes."

"I'm afraid I can't say I know, for you see, I have never time traveled... or is this possibly a trick question and I have indeed, but don't know it yet? By the way, be a dear and move just slightly onto the other leg, you do tend to get heavy with time."

The exaggerated tone of innocence was fooling no one and Noctis glared balefully up at the auburn haired man. He noted that said hair was a more natural color than in the future, deep red shading into a reddish brown color. It was also not as crazy and certainly much more manageable. Perhaps the louder purple hues and volume had been a side effect of Malum or an unfortunate accident with hair dye? Shaking the errant thought away he said in a disgruntled tone, "You know what I meant, Ardyn."

Noctis had hoped, in part, that the teasing and sarcasm had been a habit of Malum; reality would appear to be contrary to his hope. Nevertheless he got up from Ardyn's lap as a whole, wincing as he body protested loudly, but still managing to turn and sit facing Ardyn. Their current positions made Noct feel like the playing field had been leveled out a bit more and that alone was worth the pain. Ardyn may not be who he originally thought he was, but despite his friendly mannerisms, Noctis did not know this man. He also didn't immediately recognize the scenery behind his charge, but eventually he recognized the area as being passed aways passed Keycatrich and at the Fayemoor haven.

Rose, who it turns out is a stunning black chocobo, got up and shuffled closer to him. Thankfully she did not try to sit on him again, instead she let him lean on her and Noctis whispered with a sigh, "Thank you, Rose." She chirped softly and settled in more comfortably; fluffing her feathers happily.

For his part, Ardyn looked a little lost and concerned, but waited till he met his eyes again to speak once more. "I did not mean for you to move your person entirely, for you do make a rather nice lap warmer." The teasing lilt left his voice and he added more seriously, "You are also still hurting and I do not wish you to aggravate things further on account of my careless words. As both my brothers and dearest friend have mentioned on several occasions, I need to make certain my words are appropriate to the situation."

It was obvious that Ardyn's concern and apology was genuine so Noctis' features softened some. "It is a rather unseasonably cold night for the region and, while your lap is admittedly comfortable, I kinda needed to move. I've noticed that the longer I'm here the less I hurt so it wasn't too bad. Speaking of being here, I guess I should begin explaining the basics of why I came here to begin with. Shiva said you would probably have questions about it and I'm all ears."

Ardyn leaned towards him, placing both forearms on his knees, and grinned from ear to ear; excitement lighting up his amber eyes. "I do indeed have questions! Not all are about the Crystal however, so if you will allow my curiosity to wander a bit I would ask you other things. For example: you seem to know my name, but I haven't the slightest idea what yours might be. I also have been told you are a future king of my beloved Lucis, but has my particular bloodline always ruled?"

Noctis' brows came together as he heard Ardyn's questions. "Wow, I thought Shiva would have told you my name at least… I am Noctis Lucis Caelum, the 114th king of Lucis. In regards to bloodline you're more of a seriously ancient uncle to me I suppose… somewhere down the line there was a split in the succession and one of your brother's bloodlines became the ruling family." The half lie felt heavy and bitter upon his tongue while guilt burned inside him, but the truth was not to be told. Hopefully, if Noctis played these cards right, it would become reality one day and the lie would pass into obscurity.

Unexpected relief washed over Ardyn's face which surprised Noct a great deal. "I am glad one of my brothers descendants got to rule eventually, for they truly deserve it. I felt terrible, leaving them behind in social status after Lucis became a ruling nation weighed heavily on my mind. We fought hard in the war and their blood was spilt just as often as mine after all. I know they hold no ill will against my position though and knowing my family ruled for 2000 years makes me incredibly proud. Believe me when I say it is a true pleasure to meet you, King Noctis."

Noctis tried and failed to fight the burning heat of a blush that suffused his face at the words and he stammered, "It's uh likewise… you know... a pleasure to meet you, King Ardyn." And Noctis was surprised to realize he meant it, this Ardyn was definitely very different to the one he had gotten to know. He still was not entirely certain of him, but perhaps a certain level of comfort with the man should not be that unexpected. The memory of Ardyn's final moments came to him again and he felt a shiver go down his back that had nothing to do with the cold. He now knew, in the end, it had been this man who had made that empty promise and looked at him so tenderly. He had probably only met the true Ardyn once or twice, so he took that moment as their beginning and vowed to leave Malum's past doings out of this budding friendship.

Looking back up at the man, he noticed there was a flush on Ardyn's face as well, but before he could ask the other about it, he had stood and walked towards another black chocobo who stood near the edge of the haven. "This is Ebony, she does not warm up to people as quickly so please, do not take offence if she keeps her distance from you. Rose is much more personable than her mother ever has been."

"So your family breeds chocobos?" Noctis asked and attempted to keep the surprise out of his voice, but thought he might have failed.

Ardyn's next words confirmed it, "Why, do I look like a Chocobo rancher? Me? Alas, I'm afraid I must disappoint you. We only had three, but my mother loved chocobos dearly... Ebony and Rose are all I have of her now."

"I'm sorry about your mother, I know what it's like to lose a beloved parent. My father, King Regis, raised me alone after my mother died in childbirth and I was very close to him. Unfortunately, he died when I was twenty and his only inheritance to me was the throne and a bunch of problems."

For a moment they both simply looked at one another, but then the moment was broken as Ardyn turned back to Ebony. "I sense some bitterness there that I'll admit makes me curious, but it is too fine a night for such dark topics. So perhaps another time should you be willing to divulge such painful memories, I promise you shall find a sympathetic audience in me. For now we should make proper camp, I can ask serious questions about the Crystal and be nosey on the ride tomorrow."

Noctis snorted and a small smile lifted his lips at the others declared intention to be nosey, but he had to agree, tonight was not the night for dark topics. Something told him that Ardyn would be hearing more about his dad though, and possibly learn an abridged version of how Regis had died.

With a grunt, Noctis stood and was intensely grateful that the pain level had faded to a dull ache. "So, do we sleep out under the stars out in the open tonight, or do you have a tent stashed away in those saddlebags?"

"While I am not entirely opposed to roughing it in times of greatest need, I can assure you I did bring a tent with me." Ardyn pulled out several bits of canvas out of said saddle bags and held the up as if for inspection. "Good enough for you, your highness?"

Noctis snorted and rolled his eyes, "It's certainly not the type of tent I'm used to, but I do believe it will keep us warm and dry, so I guess it'll simply have to do."

Ardyn's laughter filled the air and he walked over with the tent components to a relatively smooth portion of the rock. "I do believe this adventure just became a great deal more interesting, my friend. I do believe we shall end up getting along swimmingly. Now, as you are unfamiliar with this tent design, I shall set it up tonight. You will need to learn eventually though so watch closely, your majesty."

Noctis rolled his eyes, but bowed to Ardyn as he trailed the tent's canvas material. "After you your lordship."

Ardyn merely chuckled and got to work, explaining how the different pieces went together. The tent was certainly very old fashioned, nothing like the Coleman tent Noctis had shared with the others, but at least it was new and water proof. There was one aspect both tents shared though and Noctis was quick to point it out as Ardyn finished nailing in the last tent peg. "It looks kinda small for us to be sharing… will we both fit inside?"

Ardyn smiled mischievously and gestured towards the tent. "What, uncomfortable sleeping in tight quarters with me? Come now, there might not be room to stretch out, but I am certain we will both fit. Or is my simple lodgings to rustic for a King of your standard after all?"

Rolling his eyes, hard, Noctis shook his head. "I roughed it with three other guys for a year in a single tent. I doubt your _lodgings_ will rival that, but sleeping in close proximity to you won't bother me."

Ardyn laughed once more and Noctis found himself joining the red head this time in merriment. Both of them enjoying the moment of simplicity before reality could come crashing down once more. Ardyn eventually stood and said as he moved to pack the mallet away, "I imagine that was quite the journey to take if four men sleeping in a tent was one of its crowning aspects."

Noctis' smiled died as he thought of his brothers. They would never again share a tent, not even in the far away future if he had anything to say about it. Still… "It was the best… one of the greatest years of my life."

Ardyn seemed to pick up on the melancholy in Noctis' tone and changed the subject rather effectively. "Well, I dearly hope you don't snore like Gilgamesh does, else I will stuff your nose like I do his. I have been a light sleeper since the war I'm afraid and snoring is something I absolutely cannot sleep through."

Noctis waved a hand dismissively in the air. "No, I don't snore, but I do know the pain of sleeping with someone who does. We should call it a night though as I'm sure you'll want to be up early," Noct said resignedly, groaning mentally at the thought.

Ardyn raised one eyebrow, but merely nodded. "You are quite right." Bowing expansively he gestured towards the open flap that served as a door, "Worn out time travelers first."

Noctis was glad to find out that the tent did indeed fit them both... well, as long as they didn't mind touching chest to back that is. Ardyn had taken his coat off and used it as another blanket for them to sleep under which Noctis was grateful for. Especially considering the temperature was quickly approaching what must have been fifty degrees. Which was unprecedented for any season in Leide, but it was probably just an effect of Shiva's lingering presence. Astrals tended to leave that kind of impact on the mortal plane in his experience.

Noctis was somewhat surprised to realise that, without his bulky coat, Ardyn had much more of a slim build. Still far more muscular than he was, much to the displeasure of his pride, but at least he didn't have Gladio's overwhelming masculinity. Rather, the lean muscles seemed to give him a controlled kind of elegance that surely aided him with gaining the ladies affections. Then again, the title of King and the general love his people had for him probably helped that along too...

Noctis was just starting to nod off when Ardyn muttered into the darkness, "We will be able to acquire supplies and a tent of your own in Harenae if you wish, along well more blankets and a proper bed roll. They have a year round market thankfully with a wide variety of items to choose from. For now, however, your warmth is most appreciated… as is your very presence here in this time. I know you had a chance to refuse to help me and it cannot have been an easy decision to leave everything behind."

Noctis hesitated a moment, then moved to give Ardyn a hug from behind. "While I didn't make my decision lightly it was not something I felt I could have refused, not that I wanted to. I know just how dangerous the Crystal can be and you need a guide to learn how to use it properly. I've learned all it's tricks, now It's time to pass them on so you can succeed in your quest. My father was fond of saying that a single act of grace can save the human race, guess I'm gonna see if that's true. For the moment though let's sleep; I'm exhausted and you're warm."

Ardyn relaxed into the hug and a bright smile spread across his face that Noctis couldn't see. "Indeed, as are you Noctis, sleep well my friend."

"Good night… Ardyn."


	3. Crystal Clear Dawn

Noctis woke to find the world was still dark outside and wondered if the world had ended while he had slept. In the entirety of his thirty year of life, he had never woken up early, much less while it was still dark out. It was the kind of thing that would have sent Ignis into a state of quiet shock which would be followed by a request for help with breakfast. That is, if Gladio didn't demand an early morning workout session or Prompto didn't kidnap him for some photography adventure or another before they got on the road. All of which he would generally have preferred to skip in favor of his warm sleeping bag… it's funny how you really don't realise how precious thing truly are before you lose them. This morning, he would have given almost anything to do one or all three of those things again if it meant having his friends on this quest with him.

Shaking his head, Noctis tried to focus on a more positive and productive thought, such as figuring out what time it was. Considering the lack of density to the darkness around him, he guessed it was probably around 5:00 or 6:00 in the morning, but he wasn't completely certain. That was something he would definitely miss in this era; an accurate clock. Not to mention Kings knight, assassins creed, kingdom hearts, and all his other favorite games. Although, he wouldn't have had any of that in the afterlife either… well, maybe a clock. He might have had his friends eventually though... Burying those thoughts once more he focused on Ardyn and the reason he had done what he did.

The man was truly a sight to see while sleeping, auburn hair fell in all different directions, facial muscles completely relaxed, and his nose seemed to have a habit of twitching in his sleep. Noctis had to try not to laugh out loud each time it twitched, but the odd habit certainly made him smile. As he had noted last night, Ardyn was a truly handsome man and his nature seemed to be one of genuine positivity despite the hardships he had undoubtedly been through. It would not surprise him at all if Ardyn already had a wife back home in Insomnia… or if not a wife then a serious girlfriend at least.

Had Ignis known this side of Ardyn, Noctis was certain his advisor would have approved of his new traveling companion. Especially if it had been before specs lost his sight because there wasn't a single aspect about Ardyn that was hard on the eyes. Even if Ignis had been very much in love with Gladio and incredibly humbled to have found his soulmate, the man had once told him that there was no harm in appreciating beauty for what it was; both inside and out.

Giving up on sleep with a huff, Noctis carefully extracted himself from the tent and walked towards the edge of the Haven; shivering slightly in the very brisk morning air. Ebony looked up at him but, after giving him a highly distrustful look, she went back to laying next to her daughter; he would have bet a sack full of Gill that she was still listening to him though. Rose was asleep and he certainly didn't begrudge her for wanting to catch a few more zzzz's, he was still wondering why he wasn't still asleep. Sitting down upon the ledge of Fayemoor haven, Noctis looked out across the expansive desert of Leide, wondering at the uncharacteristically chill weather and what changes he could see to the landscape.

Noctis knew that because of the desert climate the hours of darkness could get cold here, but not this unseasonably cold. If he had to guess it was probably late Summer to early Fall, but it felt like late Fall to early Winter as he could actually see his breath. Noctis also knew it would probably get a _lot_ warmer here in a few hours though, even in winter, Leide got to a healthy 77 degrees in the heat of the day. Still... it worried him that such a strange weather pattern was taking place. Last night's chill could have been attributed to Shiva's presence, but this morning was definitely atmospheric in nature.

The sun was just starting to come up over the horizon when he heard Ardyn crawl out of the tent. Noctis' focus was on the sunrise though and he didn't even turn to face his companion, despite how impolite that probably was. It was not the sunrise he had died to bring about, and yet, it still felt special somehow… like it marked something significant and Noctis didn't want to miss a second of it. The way the gold and red blended together before bleeding out to purplish blue hues... perhaps this was why people got up early… it certainly was a sight to see.

There was a sharp gasp from behind him and Noctis finally looked over his shoulder to see Ardyn, facing him and the sunset, with his mouth slightly open. Wonder and excitement were clear upon his face and Noct could not help but tease him gently, "What, never seen a sunrise?"

Ardyn's slack jaw turned into a breathtaking smile and mirth shone in his eyes. "Many are the sunrises I have seen, yet none in the past or henceforth can compare to the beauty of this sight, dear Noctis."

He felt heat suffuse his cheeks for some reason and looked back towards the rising sun. "Yeah, there is something about this one that just… feels different."

Ardyn joined him on the lip of the rock and suddenly he felt a heavy weight drape over his shoulders, warmth seeping back into his body. Looking down, Noctis saw a familiar black coat and before he could ask Ardyn said, "You appeared to be cold and it occurred to me that you are unused to this cold weather, unlike myself."

"Yeah… it was still pretty warm back home, thank you " Noctis said with a small smile, turning to look back at the sunrise as Ardyn sat down next to him. "Sooo is Leide usually this cold in your time? Cause it was more desert like in my time."

Ardyn was silent a moment before finally shaking his head, "No, but atmospheric changes have been happening slowly since the Astral wars ended. I for one believe it is because the Astral's are asleep, but Izunia believes there may be a greater reason behind it."

Noctis played with the sewn in paldron on Ardyn's coat a moment, deep in thought, then shook his head too. "Can't say I've got a solid answer either to be honest..."

Silence fell between then as they took time to watch the colors brighten and spread into daylight. Noctis didn't flinch when a larger hand covered his, but he did glance at it and smile warmly. Something he was quickly learning was that, like Prompto and the others, Ardyn was physically inclined in his expressions. Perhaps it was a part of his affinity as a healer or maybe his family was particularly close with one another. Whatever the reason, Noctis didn't mind too much as he had his own moments of being physically inclined as well. Leaning his shoulder against his companions, Noct hummed happily when Ardyn shifted to make the action more comfortable for them both. He may not have his brothers here, but Ardyn would undoubtedly make a worthwhile traveling companion in their absence.

Eventually the colors sadly faded as the sun soared into the sky and Noctis stood, feeling the warm weight of Ardyn's coat around his shoulders. Smiling a bit ruefully, Noctis shrugged it off and handed him the garment adding quietly, "Thank you for the warm coat and watching the sunrise with me, technically, it's been ten years since I've seen one."

Ardyn paused in the act of putting on his coat to look incredulously at Noctis, "Pray tell just how doth the sun vanish for ten years and a civilization still exist?!"

Noctis took a moment to gather his thoughts before explaining an altered, yet essentially true, version of what had happened in his time. "That's kinda a long story… you know of the Daemons and the scourge which infects humans, but what you don't realise is that there is a Daemon King of sorts behind them. The Astrals know him as Malum, the source of the scourge, and King of Daemons. I'm not exactly certain where he comes from, but he caused mayhem in my time and is causing havoc here. Throughout history, Malum has managed to corrupt the mind of Ifrit, start countless wars, destroy important historical records, and eventually bring unending night to Eos."

An expression of deep sadness settled upon Ardyn's features as he pulled his coat on the rest of the way. "I take it that all these tragedies happened because I initially failed in my quest?"

Noctis stepped forward and laid a hand upon Ardyn's pauldron clad shoulder, "You did not succeed in your quest last time because you didn't know how to use the Crystal properly. Hell, it took your descendants decades to figure it out on their own, so it's nothing to beat yourself up over. I'm here to teach you so you won't fail this time, I promise you, Malum's reign of terror will end in your lifetime so our people won't continue to suffer. Besides, from all I've heard and seen you're an amazing human being, Ardyn, don't let a non existent past trouble you."

Noctis started back towards the tent, but Ardyn's next words made him stop and look back over his shoulder. "You still exist and you are part of that past, therefore... I still failed you."

For a moment Noctis was speechless, at first uncertain how to handle the deep sorrow in those words, then he shrugged and his eyes softened. "No, Ardyn, you're not the one who failed me, so don't cast that blame on yourself. Take this second chance for what it is and in the meantime I believe we need to be getting on the road. After all, the Astrals need a wakeup call and you've got a Crystal to prove yourself to; no time for self doubt here with a to do list like that."

For a moment, Ardyn just stared at him, but then a small smile lifted his lips and he shook his head, "I believe I just realized which of my brother's families was the ruling bloodline in your time. You have Izunia's unmistakable habit of giving reality altering yet incredibly irreverent speeches when I need them most... You are correct, Noctis, we need to get moving on our quest and dwelling on what once was will only be a hindrance. If you could take down the tent, I shall redistribute saddle bags and get Rose ready for you to ride."

They both moved to begin their respective tasks and the breaking of camp was done fairly efficiently. At least… until the very end that is. Noctis had carefully removed all the tents canvas, packed up their sleeping gear, and even put together a cold breakfast of meat and cheese. Then it all came to a halt as Noctis tried to take up the tent pegs. He didn't figure there was any special tool for taking up the pegs, they should just come out of the ground when force was applied. So he simply grabbed one and pulled, expecting it to come free, but nothing happened. Thinking it was just being obstinate, Noctis tried again and this time with both hands pulling as hard as he could, but _still_ nothing. Letting out a frustrated growl he kicked out at the tent peg in the hope it would loosen it, all he achieved was a throbbing pain in his toes and the peg remained resolutely sedentary in the ground.

Having been watching Noctis' struggle from where he stood, nearly done distributing packs evenly, Ardyn could not help but burst into laughter when Noctis kicked the tent peg. Taking pity he called out to the hopping man, "Do you not use pry bars in the future? Perhaps it is a lost art… or do you simply enjoy pain? If the latter is true do not let me bother you further, do hurry it up a little though, as you've pointed out we don't have all day!"

Noctis grumbled cuss words under his breath all the way over to Ardyn who had pulled out what was unmistakably a pry bar. "Thanks _so_ much, I'll get right on figuring out this _new_ and _wondrous_ technology," Noctis muttered sarcastically. As he limped back towards the pegs he thought for a moment that Ardyn might leave it at that, but this _was_ Ardyn and no luck was to be had as the man asked, "By the way I take it damn, fuck, and crap all fall under the same category as shit? Although I understood bastard pegs; now, how a peg can be a bastard is beyond my understanding, but I'm certain it somehow makes sense in your world."

Noctis threw him a disgruntled look, thought about flipping him off, and then thought better of it. Ardyn probably didn't even know what the gesture meant, or knowing his luck, it would still have sexual connotations which was the last thing he wanted to send Ardyn's way. Instead he focused on using the pry bar to remove all four tent pegs with a certain amount of revenge born satisfaction. He forcefully placed the pry bar and all four offending pegs in the largest saddle bag along with the rest of the tent. Looking around camp one more time, Noctis was satisfied they had not left anything behind and apparently so was Ardyn.

"We best get a start along the road then if you have no objections. Harenae is nearly 20 miles from here, but If we keep a good pace we should reach it before dark. If I do not have fight the Daemons I would generally prefer not to and getting a chance sleep in beds at the inn tonight is not something I would lightly miss out on. The people who own the Tipsy Travelers Inn are welcoming and gracious hosts whom I am well acquainted with. Harenae is also one of the few towns to still have lights from the Solheim dynasty that work and magical protection against beasts. However, while we somewhat understand the magical barrier against beasts, we are not at all certain how the lights work..."

Noctis debated answering as they mounted the chocobos, Rose chirping happily at him as he petted her neck. Explaining what he knew of the meteor could change the future drastically, but then, making a better future for Lucis was one of their end goals. Not to mention that, as a former King, Noctis felt duty bound to help his people. Coming to a decision he answered Ardyn's unintended question, "My guess is it probably has a shard of the meteor powering it. My advisor told me that was how early lights were powered and that the technology was rather advanced. If a group of people could mine the shards then you might be able to restore light to towns who already have the technology implemented."

The look of sheer wonder that over took Ardyn's features was one that clearly spoke of relief mixed with excitement. "Good messenger, the gift you have just given us is one I am uncertain I could ever repay, my deepest thanks to you."

Noctis shifted uncomfortably and looked down at Rose, situating his saddle leathers a bit while a slight frown tugged at his lips. "Lucis is my home still and, while I may no longer be King, if I can make things easier for the people then I have no right to withhold information. We had pretty cushy lives in my time and Niflheim technology was comparable to that of Solheim. I'm not certain how a lot of it worked, but I think we can figure out some of it."

Ardyn's eyebrows rise up into his hairline and he tilted his head slightly to one side, as if appraising him. "I am not certain I hold much hope of that happening. After all, you cannot even seem to figure out how to take up tent pegs, much less such complicated technology."

Rolling his eyes, Noctis pointed towards Ardyn's chest and said, "So says the King who can't even figure out his shirt is on backwards; guess we'll both just have to do our best."

Noctis was fascinated and highly amused to see a bright blush light up Ardyn's cheeks. The younger man swiftly disrobed and turned his shirt around the correct way, clearing his throat as he pulled on his coat once more. "Just how long, pray tell, where you planning on allowing me to travel incorrectly dressed as such?"

Noctis shrugged nonchalantly, a mischievous light to his eyes, and nudged Rose into a walk. "Probably until just before we reached Harenae, which we should probably get moving towards. I wanted to give you a chance to figure it out yourself, _but_ as we are pointing out faults, I thought now would be a good time."

Ardyn urged Ebony to come up beside Rose before answering with a shake of his head, "I must say, having you along for this journey is similar to having one of my brothers along with me..."

"Guess blood always tells, no matter how much it dilutes over a couple millennia, some things just don't change," Noctis added with a smile in Ardyn's direction.

Ardyn seemed to hesitate a moment, then he reached over and gave a gentle squeeze to Noctis' thigh before leaning back. In a smooth movement he then pulled out a map and started studying it intently. Noctis wasn't sure what all that was about, but he didn't want to disturb the redhead with questions he wasn't sure he wanted answers to, so he focused on the scenery instead. They were definitely close to where Formouth Garrison had been located in his time, which confused him quite a bit. Had Ardyn been in Keycatrich before setting out on his journey? The question continued to bother him as they make their way along the dirt trail, which was nothing close to the cracked asphalt in his time, but with Chocobos being the only reliable mode of transportation it made sense.

Finally his curiosity got to be too great and Noctis asked, "Why were you in or near Keycatrich before setting out on your journey? It's not exactly a short distance from Insomnia."

Ardyn looked up from his map and the look of utter befuddlement that had taken over the man's visage almost made Noctis burst out laughing; his amusement was quickly dashed when Ardyn asked, "Keycatrich? Insomnia? I'm afraid I have never heard of either location… I set out from Dominum which is where my castle was built, although nothing close to the grandeur of Solheim's citadel, it is nevertheless my home."

Noctis supposed he shouldn't be shocked that over the last 2000 years the capitol had changed in location, but still, a reality without Insomnia… Was there even a town where the mighty city would eventually be; or was it nothing but bare ground? Taking a steadying breath Noct tried to make sense of what he had been told and eventually asked, "Is… is Dominum inside a canyon with tall walls?"

"Yes indeed it is, so you do know of it then," Ardyn said was a bright smile, "The castle is partly chiseled out of the rock while the rest is made of strong stone and metals. It was once a military structure only, but I have made renovations and it is much more homey these days."

The passage of time really was a scary thing Noctis silently decided to himself as he remembered the ruined structure that had once been Ardyn's home. "Yes… I know of the area you are talking about, but the town was renamed Keycatrich at some point in history. Insomnia was the capital of Lucis in my time and its citadel was definitely breathtaking to behold… Lucis never quite regained the grandeur of Solheim, but we came close."

"You are homesick," Ardyn half stated and half asked sympathetically.

Noctis looked down and the ground feeling old pain wash over him, "Hard to feel homesick when your home is in ruins, more like I still mourn its loss and it's just one more reason to make sure Malum is stopped sooner rather than later."

Ardyn made as if to say something, then seem to think better of it and thankfully went back to looking at his map quietly. It wasn't that Noctis didn't appreciate that Ardyn cared, he just didn't want to talk about it; it was all gone now anyway. To distract himself he focused on his surroundings once more; noting the different changes in the biggest change was undoubtedly that Longwythe peak was no longer a peak at all. Instead, an extraordinarily tall plateau cast part of the desert planes into deep shadow. There was also the fact that, while it was warmer, the temperature was still way to mild for the region, however Ardyn had confirmed that the climate change wasn't a natural occurrence .

Noctis was relieved to see that not everything was different, there were some vaguely familiar landmarks, although admittedly few and far between. From the presence of certain large rock formations Noctis figured they were not too far from where Hammerhead would eventually be built. Noct could also just make out the mountainous regions of Balouve that would likely grow closer throughout the day. If the distance and their direction of travel was any indication, then he was almost certain that Harenae was in the same general area as Longwythe Rest Area had been.

Noctis was pulled from his musings by Ardyn who had moved put his map away. "If you are not opposed to the subject, could I tempt you to divulge any further potentially helpful future knowledge; are there any other powerful resources available to Lucis? You said that your Insomnia was almost to the level of Solheim… how was that achieved?"

He should have expected to the question, it was only natural and Noctis certainly didn't begrudge him for asking, but it took him a moment to think of an answer. Eventually he shrugged and said, "Nothing as far as power based resources… and I'm afraid I never paid attention to how most of our technology actually worked. However, I do know where some good mines are located along with some possibly highly fertile plots of land for growing quality goods. Problem is that the topography has obviously changed since my time and I'm not certain exactly how accurate my directions will be, or if the land is fertile this far back, but I'm willing to give it a shot if you are.

Looking over at his companion he could tell Ardyn seemed to be seriously contemplating his words. "I must admit that, while Lucis is steady with trade and we are not lacking in wealth, neither are we progressing as a young kingdom should. Once we reach the inn, if you could mark their rough locations upon my map, that would be invaluable. The fact you do not know how most of your advancements were achieved is disappointing, but not at all surprising given that you are a King and warrior, not one who deals in such advancements."

"Yeah… kinda beyond me, but once we reach the Tipsy Traveler I'll write down what I know…" Noctis trailed off as he saw what looked to be a small grouping of old stone houses on the side of the road and pointed to them, "Or we could stop there for a late lunch and I can look over the map while we eat."

When Ardyn didn't immediately respond, Noctis turned to look at his traveling companion to see what was up. However, he was taken aback to see a dark and sad expression upon the previously hopeful features. "I would prefer if we did not stop there..."

"Why what's wro-," Noctis started to ask, but his words cut off as they came close enough to clearly see the hamlet. It was obvious that the place had been attacked and, just as clearly, by what. Entire walls were missing from houses where an iron giant, or something similar, had smashed it to pieces in order to reach the terrified inhabitants within. Tall grave markers were a clear indication of the fate that befell them afterwards...

Pain and sadness washed through him and Noct felt a tear slide into his beard at the blatant slaughter of innocent lives. "They… they didn't even stand a chance, did they?" Noctis asked, his voice breaking with emotion. In the early years of his life, he might have brushed these people off as no more than casualties in a war, much like the casualties from Insomnia, but those days were long gone. His father's death, their subsequent travels amongst the people, and his time of reflection within the Crystal had all helped drive home what it really meant to be King… and just how precious every life was.

As they passed the hamlet, Ardyn finally whispered an answer, "No… they were simple farmers… no warriors. I became King, _created Lucis_ , to defend my people and stop the senseless deaths that were once so commonplace. I've beaten back the hordes of invading nations, brought unity to my people, but the Daemons still remain and Malum yet draws breath to laugh at us." Bitterness filled those last few words and Noctis found himself sympathizing wholeheartedly.

In an unspoken agreement they both urged the Chocobos up into a trot, hoping to put such a dark reminder of failure behind. However, Noctis could not help but make one last point about the matter, "Guess we'll just have to succeed in killing him, can't laugh at us if he is dead, which is definitely how I prefer that son of a bitch."

For a moment, Ardyn looked like he wanted to ask a question, but seemed to settle on shooting him an incredibly bemused expression. "You truly are very different to what I imagined you would be like when Shiva told me I would be assigned a messenger. For example, you do not act hundreds of years old and it is said the messengers have been around for centuries; living eternally. Are the histories wrong by chance?"

Noctis could not help the mirthless chuckle that escaped him as he said, "No, It's true, some of the messengers of Eos are positively ancient, but not all of them. I'm definitely the youngest in any case, kinda like a glorified errand boy for Shiva right now to be honest and nothing overly spectacular like Umbra or Pryna are…"

Ardyn shook his head and risked taking one hand off his reigns to gesture questioningly into the air. "When you say you are the youngest... just how many missions have you been on for the lady prior to this assignment?"

Noctis snorted and lifted a hand to feel the rough scar on his chest through his battered black shirt. "Considering I only died yesterday? I think it would be safe to assume this is my first mission as a messenger."

Noctis thought Ebony just might fall over with how hard Ardyn pulled her to a stop. Fighting bemused laughter, Noctis turned Rose much more slowly, bringing her to a halt near Ebony and her shocked rider who exclaimed loudly. "You are dead!? Surely you poorly jest! I thought you had merely ascended!"

To be honest, Noctis was a little baffled at his reaction. Considering the situation he could see why Ardyn might be shocked, it's not everyday you learn your traveling companion is dead after all, but surely not to this extent... Despite the chilly wind that had started to blow, Noctis lifted up his shirt to bare the new and freshly scarred wound upon his chest. Showing the irrefutable evidence he had been run through with a sword and unquestionably mortally wounded. "Nope, not joking, and definitely dead; to be a messenger you have to leave behind your mortal life or be created by the Astrals for that purpose. If I'm not what you expected then you'll just have to get over it I guess."

The shocked look slowly slid into a sarcastic smirk and Ardyn shook his head, tutting in mock disappointment. "Oh and here I simply had my heart set on having a no nonsense babysitter to keep me in line. I guess you shalll just have to...stiffen up some." An odd glint in his eyes made Noctis' face unexpectedly flush and he looked off towards the mountains once more.

After regaining control of his blood flow Noctis rolled his eyes and huffed, "Like I said, you'll just have to get over it somehow, I come as I am… stiff or not."

The sarcastic smile became a breathtakingly genuine one that caused an wave of warmth to fill him. Ardyn reached out and gently patted his cheek a few times and said, "You know I jest, Noctis, for truly I am pleasantly surprised by your familiarity." His hand dropped away, but Noctis could still feel a tingling warmth where it had touched him and found himself oddly wishing it had lingered. "Now, I believe someone mentioned lunch and there is an oasis a little ways off the road where we might have a late lunch at, I would rather wait to look over the map this evening though."

"We can look over the map whenever you want, just so long as there is food involved. I think better on a full stomach and you'll never hear me turn down a chance to eat," Noctis said wholeheartedly, "My royal ass isn't used to riding this much anymore either so I won't argue against a break."

As they turned towards the Oasis Ardyn stated, "Tut tut, now we simply cannot have that… I must warn you though, should you meet one another, your profanity is something my youngest brother would certainly deem behavior unfit for a royal. Despite its strangeness and foreign context which Kilff would undoubtedly wish to pick apart and examine despite its crass nature." Ardyn said in a obviously amused tone.

"Well, he wouldn't be the first one to lecture me about my language, which just shows just how effective those lectures were. I'd be willing to sit down and give him a lesson in modern cuss words though," Noctis added with a smirk.

"I do believe I would not mind sitting in for that particular lesson as well, lest I can get it given while on our journey. Such knowledge could be useful considering how often you use said profanity."

Before Noctis could respond he was caught off guard and rendered speechless as he got a good look of the oasis. A large swath of trees and flowers seemed to appear out of nowhere as they crested an embankment of sorts. Deep greens mixed in with yellows, reds, purples, and blues to paint a beautifully contrasting sight against the hard baked dirt of Leide. Although, sadly, many of the plants did seem to be struggling in this unseasonably cold weather. As they got closer, Noctis saw a large pond in the center and could not help wondering what kind of fish might be in there.

Noctis had to put that thought aside for the moment though as he dismounted from Rose to let her get a much needed drink. He spent a few moments simply petting her, lost in thought about the day thus far, but eventually he moved to settle down next to Ardyn who had already started a fire and was busy feeding it dry brush to increase its heat. Set off to the side was what looked to be sausages skewered on green branches and Noctis felt extremely glad that no vegetables were to be involved. That was something he would never grow out of and honestly didn't see a need to. Meat, grains, and the occasional berries were a perfectly healthy diet without the ground spawned bitterness that was vegetables.

"I do hope you are a competent enough cook to manage squwered sausage over a fire. Else I will be forced to accept the reality of being demoted from King to personal cook for the duration of our journey," Ardyn lamented jokingly as he passed Noct a stick with four sausages on it.

"I think since someone like you managed to get them on the stick the correct way without hurting yourself, I should be just fine," Noctis quipped with a smirk, then he shrugged and added, "Although, I'll admit I'm not a great cook, just know enough to get by on my own and some of those meals don't exist yet. So don't expect first class cuisine if I'm the one cooking." Noctis said ruefully as he placed his skewer over the hot fire.

"A King should always eat as finely as can be expected in whatever situation they find themselves in." Ardyn added in a false and overly self important tone of voice.

"Which, of course, means sausages eaten in an oasis just off the road," Noctis deadpanned with one eyebrow raised.

"In this particular instance? Yes, it does indeed mean sausages eaten in an oasis just off the road. The company in which you keep for such meals is also of great importance, for public image cannot be sacrificed in favor of familiarity. At least that is what Kilff has told me on several occasions as my advisor." They were quiet for a few moments, but as they both started to eat Ardyn asked, "While you are, admittedly, not a cook, do you _have_ any particular skills or hobbies that you enjoy?"

After swallowing a particular large bite of his now cooked skewer, Noctis nodded, "I love to go fishing and went out to Insomnia's lake as often as I could get away with while growing up. It was also a way I could augment our food stores while I was on my own journey with my friends… although they were more brothers to me than friends. I don't mind getting some fish for us either if you don't mind stopping at pools, lakes, or even the ocean along the way."

Ardyn laughed and pointed towards Ebony, "As long as you do not mind if I join you and possibly double our haul whilst doing so. My fishing rod is always something I pack just in case the opportunity arises to spend some time fishing."

Looking closer at Ebony's packs, Noctis saw just the tip of a fishing rod pointing out and felt his level of excitement rise considerably. Getting to travel with someone who shared his passion was bound to be an amazing and it was something he was unfamiliar with. "Don't mind at all, just don't be surprised if I out fish you, I am a fishing legend in my time after all; gotta keep my title."

Amber eyes lit up at the challenge in those words and Ardyn said, "Do not count your fish before they are caught, for the water is our true mistress and to whom she shows favor is as fickle as the weather above her."

"Guess we'll just have to find out then, we don't have time today, but when we do I promise I'll be the one she favors," Noctis said confidently.

"We shall see, Noctis, you may find yourself surprised by the outcome." Ardyn added smugly and settled down to finish eating and never taking his eyes off Noctis.

Noct had no idea what Ardyn found so interesting, but that amber gaze was pretty intense and, to be honest, it was starting to make him a bit uncomfortable so he broke the silence that had fallen, "Why don't you take a picture, it lasts longer." Noctis quipped without thinking.

"What is a picture?" Ardyn asked, obviously confused by the statement, "Is it anything like a painting?"

Rolling his eye Noct huffed, "It's complicated, never mind, future terminology."

Ardyn seemed hesitant, but after a while he said, "I am sorry… it must be difficult... coming to an entirely different era and having to help someone whom you are unfamiliar with."

Noctis sighed heavily and put aside his empty skewer. "I haven't really thought about it a lot... I'm trying to not to because the past is gone and making a better future is what matters now."

"Our past shapes us into who we are, you have lost a part of yourself and I shall not ignore the weight of that reality," Ardyn said sternly.

Noctis was quiet for a long time, deep in thought. To be honest with himself he missed the others and, while his reasons for being here would never change, this era is also very different. He couldn't afford to wallow in self pity though, if he thought too hard about the past who knew what he might let slip in an emotional state. There were some secrets Ardyn could not find out about, secrets that would be kept easier if he maintained some emotional distance between them, no matter how comfortable he felt with his ancestor.

Getting up, Noctis stretched and said, "We better get moving, I may not be able to tell what time it is, but I do know the sun is getting pretty low in the sky."

"You are quite right and it is four in the afternoon I'm afraid, we should still reach our destination just before dark at this rate, but only if we hasten our departure," Putting out their fire, Ardyn pointed at the Chocobos, "Go ahead and mount Rose and start off along the road, I shall catch up to you soon."

"Don't you want some help cleaning up? I don't mind you know or at least I could stay to give you company," Noctis pointed out as Ardyn stood and started to put away their unused food.

"Do not mistake me, I would dearly love your company and appreciate the help, but it would be far more advantageous for you to be working out the initial saddle soreness at a relaxed pace. Once I catch up we shall need to pick up the pace once more I'm afraid and it would be better for you with a few minutes of readjusting."

Noctis was loathe to admit, but Ardyn did have a point. He just wasn't used to riding anymore and his muscles needed to get used to the activity a little quicker than what might be advised for a unseasoned rider. Grimacing at the thought of how sore he would be by the end of the day Noctis asked, "I don't suppose you would be willing to use that healing ability if yours to just take the soreness out?"

Ardyn paused in his tasks and shook his head slowly, "As much as I would love to save you this suffering Noctis, I'm afraid if I did so then your muscles would never harden and become accustomed to riding."

Moving towards Rose with a resigned sigh Noctis replied, "Yeah I figured as much, was worth a shot to ask though."

Ardyn hummed as he covered the still glowing ashes and said, "No, it was not, but I can sympathize with your plight. Stay safe my friend and I shall see you soon."

Recognizing the dismissal for what it was Noctis laughed and mounted up on Rose who gave him a friendly chirp. The pain that lit up from abused muscles made him groan softly, but with a deep breath he pushed passed it and nudged her into a steady walk along the road. He heard humming from behind him and smiled to himself as he relaxed and enjoyed the fading melody. Ardyn truly was an interesting man without the influence of the scourge and Noctis, being honest with himself, couldn't wait to see what adventures they would face together...


	4. Shrieks Amid The Night

Noctis had maybe been riding at a steady pace for fifteen minutes when Ardyn caught up to him on Ebony. He had to admit: the black Chocobos were truly superior birds to the Chocobos he had ridden in his time. Waving a greeting to Ardyn he said, "That didn't take you long."

"Ahhh the advantages to being alone is I am undistracted by your charming company, thus my work has a increased likelihood of getting completed faster. For as much as I would love to simply enjoy the day with you, I'm afraid I have never really been one for sleeping outdoors," Ardyn trailed off with a clear look of disdain. "It was quite the point of consternation and amusement for Izunia during the war, I can assure you," he added with a smirk now playing about his lips and a teasing light to his eyes.

"Soooo now I'm a distraction to you on top of not being exactly what you bargained for," Noctis asked with raised eyebrows, "You know I'm pretty sure I can just remove myself at any time and poof into the beyond. Being sort of undead has its advantages," Noctis teased back and nudged his leg against Ardyn's. Both birds fluffed their feathers at the movement, but otherwise remained unbothered.

For his part Ardyn seemed to have fallen into some kind of deep contemplation, eventually reaching out one hand to press against Noctis' side. Noct felt his breath hitch at the intimate touch and fought back a shiver that his body threatened at the oddly pleasant sensation. _Why_ was he reacting like this to Ardyn's touches, the guys had touched him all the time and he had never reacted like this with them. Breathing out slowly, Noctis decided it was a matter for later contemplation and shot Ardyn a quizzical look; leaning slightly into the touch unconsciously.

This seemed to bring his traveling companion out of his reverie as he dropped his hand and said quietly, "I do wonder… what makes a Astral messenger different from mortals. You feel warm and very much alive to me... and yet you have obviously passed into the realm of the dead once already..."

Noctis took a moment to gather his rather frazzled thoughts before answering. "I'm… not exactly sure what the differences are to be honest, other than the obvious. I didn't exactly get a how to be a messenger booklet when I got brought here; despite how convenient that would have been. However… it's weird… I can still feel the Astral plane. It's always there… like a low hum in the back of my mind. Something tells me that if I followed it I could visit the Astral realm, but I'm not going to try it out of the road."

Ardyn hummed, obviously deep in thought, before shaking his head slowly. "I must admit to being curious about just what potential powers you have, but as you stated, experimentation can wait for another time. That you are here now, even as some kind of undead being, is a blessing I will not scrutinize too closely. I am only saddened that death took you so early in life… what happened if it is not out of bounds to ask such a question?"

As they both finally nudged the Chocobos into a faster pace, Noctis took a moment to figure out how to phrase his answer without it being a complete lie. The problem of what to reveal of the past was starting to plague him more and more as the questions got increasingly personal. He didn't particularly want Ardyn to know that, after he had failed in the past, Noctis had been named the King of Light. Ardyn wouldn't be aware of his own title as King of Light until the Crystal bestowed it's blessing upon him, but that day would eventually come and Noctis didn't want his own title confusing things. Besides, as far as Noctis was concerned, he had left that title and all its burdens behind him through death.

In the end he decided to keep his explanation short, believable, and bereft of details. "I died in a final battle against Malum as a last ditch effort to return the dawn and banish the Daemons in my time. It's the oldest ritual known to all the realms, a life for a life, and while I wasn't sure I could actually kill him I was certain he would no longer be able to hurt my people."

Great despair etched itself in every line of Ardyn's body and he murmured, "It truly astounds me how we believed Ifrit was the source of the scourge. We did not even question it, merely accepting the evidence laid before us in the open, a great shame upon the Caelum clan. Blight is the greatest evil in this land and after the Astral war and we just assumed he was behind it." Fingers tightening into a fist Ardyn shook his head, "How can we possibly have been so blind and what else are we possibly ignorant of?"

Noctis reached up and took Ardyn's fisted hand, squeezing it in comfort despite the awkwardness of the Chocobo's movements. "Sometimes the puzzle fits together and we leave it at that out of relief or other pressing matters. Forgetting to check if the bigger picture makes any sense after the pieces are aligned is not a crime. In the face of everything that has happened, to be honest, I'm surprised you didn't come to a worse conclusion. Ifrit is probably still a big part of the puzzle and we can't let Malum wake him; if that happens our task will be a lot more difficult."

Ardyn relaxed his tightly curled fingers and interlaced their fingers with a warm smile. Rose let out a soft coo that make them both chuckle and Ardyn said, "I do believe Rose approves of our blossoming friendship." Turning serious once more, he sighed heavily, "I merely wish defeating Malum would prove to be as easy… While I can fight and mine sword has often been stained by the lifeblood of others... most of my magical talents lie in the art of saving lives which is by far my preferred passtime."

"That's not necessarily a bad thing," Noctis pointed out, "I'm not the only one who has been granted new abilities though and, unlike my situation, you actually have a informational booklet this time. Learning how to use the magic of the Crystal and gaining its blessing will give you the power needed to face Malum and win. He is not as powerful this far back in time so we have a chance to destroy the bastard once and for all."

"Without self sacrifice this time," Ardyn added with a meaningful look in his direction,

"Yeah," Noctis said with a small laugh, "I'm not exactly keen on dying again; actually I don't know if I can die, but I'd rather not find out either... So, which abilities have you figured out on your own since gaining the Crystal?"

Ardyn took a moment to compile his thoughts then said, "I know how to follow a thrown object through space in a instant which I can assure you was very difficult to get the hang of. My first experience with that is a story worth telling, but perhaps one better left until we are at a table with drinks in hand."

Loud laughter escaped his lips and Noctis nodded his head rapidly, "I think most of us who can warp have interesting stories revolving around our first attempts at it. I'll tell you mine in the same setting some other time, for now, are there any other powers you've found on your own?"

Humming in contemplation Ardyn said, "I have felt a greater connection to the elements since acquiring and being bound to the Crystal. I have caused lightning to shoot from my fingertips once… Kilff was not amused that such important documents had been destroyed." Ardyn looked a little sheepish and shuddered at the memory before continuing, "I have also called fourth snowflakes indoors to the amusement of my cat."

"You have a cat?" Noctis asked, suddenly feeling a even greater kinship with the man.

Ardyn looked a little taken aback at the change in subject, but smiled brightly nonetheless. "Yes I do indeed, Albin was a gift from a small farm girl whose mother I had healed. I have always had a great love for cats, but I had not been settled enough to own one before that point. Why do you ask such a question?"

"I've kinda always loved cats, but my father was allergic so I've never had one to call my own. Ignis, my advisor, always joked that I acted enough like a cat that I didn't need one, but I still played with and fed those I found on the streets of Insomnia…" Noctis trailed off in remembrance of a childhood long gone, then snapped back to the present with a shake of his head. "Sorry, we've gotten off topic, so you can call upon the elements?"

"Ahh yes, as you know all of the Caelum line has a connection to fire, but I've never been able to call upon the other elements before now. So I assumed this was yet another Crystal power."

Noctis honestly _didn't_ know that the Caelum bloodline had always been connected to fire, but now wasn't the time to ask more, instead he answered, "Yeah, it's because of the Crystals connection with Eos or something like that. We can actually connect to other elements like water and wind, but its it's harder and I've never had much luck with it personally. The more you tap into those elements the stronger you will be and we probably need to start allocating two hours of training time at night or in the morning for you to practice."

Sighing deeply and hanging his head Ardyn said, "That would make sense, if we are to face Malum at the end of this journey I cannot afford to slacken in my training. Such negligence is unacceptable and I am ashamed to say I thought this might be a bit of a break for me."

"Well, it's certainly not gonna be a vacation," Noctis said apologetically. "The Astrals are nothing to take lightly, but it has got to be better than paperwork or listening to complaints all day at least. Concerning your training though, I want you to set up small targets and practice throwing rocks at them to work on precision warping. Elemental control and warping are the two most basic powers you gained from the Crystal and you will need a achieve an almost subconscious ease of using them before we fight Malum," Noctis explained to his rather rapt audience. "Have you added more weapons to your arsenal yet?"

The completely blank look on Ardyn's face made Noctis groan as he slipped his hand out of his clueless companions in order to pinch the bridge of his nose. "You didn't realise you can store other weapons in the ether and call them fourth at will? Where did you think your sword keeps disappearing to exactly?"

Ardyn's face hardened and he looked away from Noctis, both hands tightening on his reigns. "I am unaware of many aspects of this magic, Noctis… and I had no way of finding out until you arrived. As you have pointed out, there is no book on how to master this power so you must be patient with me."

Shame and guilt washed over Noct and he ran a hand through his hair as he tried to find the right words of apology. "You're right… guess I'm probably not the best teacher on Eos. I got so used to the Crystals powers being somewhat understood in my time so it's throwing me a bit here, but that's not really an excuse, I was told what I was getting into."

Ardyn turned towards him and a small smile lifted his previous stony features. "While what you say is true I also spoke in haste, this is a entirely different era to what you are used to… I should be more mindful of that. So... I am going to assume from your statement that I can house more than my sword in this ether?"

"Yeah," Noctis said with a tentative smile of his own, recognizing the olive branch he had been handed, "you can store weapons as well as Gil and other objects in the ether. I suggest you start with larger objects though as they are not as easy to lose inside the ether as your Gil is. Once you have a second weapon chosen then I'll show you how to store and call upon the different weapons."

"I am proficient in daggers to a small degree as they were my childhood weapon of choice, so I will pick up a decent pair up at the market in Harenae." Ardyn admitted while looking up at the darkening sky, his face pinched with concern, "In the meantime I am growing worried we will not reach the town before dark. We have maybe an hour of daylight and we are still perhaps two hours from Harenae… the closest haven is over two hours away at this point. Thus it would appear we only have two options left to us: either we camp in an unprotected location or we make a mad rush for town and hope to reach its lights and protective magics."

Noctis was silent a moment, then pointed out something that had been bothering him, "Have you noticed the lack of wildlife? In my time this place was crawling with Sabertusk's. Maybe it's different now, but it's almost too quiet…."

Ardyn looked around and hummed contemplatively, "While our wildlife rarely approaches humans on the road, there is usually more sign of them or even packs visible in the distance. Yet I must admit I have seen neither…"

"In my experience that means there is either a particularly nasty Daemon or serious powerful monster in the area," Noctis said as his frown deepened, "Either way it is definitely a night based hunter or we would have been attacked by now; especially with how thoroughly the wildlife has disappeared. So I don't believe we should attempt staying out in the open when we don't know what is out here."

Ardyn shifted himself lower in the saddle and loosened his reins as he said, "Sound wisdom, we make for Harenae then with all haste. If we push the Chocobos then we might get there a half hour after sunset and pray that it will be too soon after sunset for us to become recognised as prey. Usually I am against pushing the birds so hard so soon, Rose and Ebony are not in racing condition, but we will be in town for two days at least which should be long enough for everyone's sore muscles to recover… Both avian and divinity alike," Ardyn said with a teasing tilt of his head, almost a mock bow of sorts.

Noctis rolled his eyes, but couldn't find an argument against the plan so they both urged their mounts into a dead run. He laughed at the speed and heard Ardyn's whoop of exultation slightly behind him which made his smile grow wider. It did surprise him that Rose was the faster bird considering she was shorter, he even had to pull her in a bit, but it did make Noct feel pretty smug. At least, until the pace started to make his ass and thighs sting in protest with every thud of her feet that is. Eventually, getting tired of the endless pounding of their Chocobos strides and trying to keep his mind off the pain, Noctis filled the silence by telling Ardyn more of what Insomnia had been like before its destruction. Explaining what advancements the crystal shards and heat from the meteor might eventually be used for once more if they could figure it out.

Ardyn had been particularly impressed by cell phones which was not a technology that had ever existed; even in the Solheim dynasty. Some of the technology was recognizable though such as lights, airships, wheeled transportation, and even television. Though only stories and remnants remained of it now and, not for the first time, Noctis wished he hadn't skipped those modern engineering and technology classes. Prompto would be laying on a healthy dose of I told you so right now, still, he wished he knew how to figure out the secret of Solheim's success… it might open a different opportunity for technological advancement.

Noctis looked up at the stars that had appeared after the onset of darkness and felt oddly at peace with the world despite the potential danger around them. There was something that bothered him though and found himself saying, "There is something I don't understand, it's only been fifty years since the Solheim dynasty fell, did everyone who knew the secrets to that technology die in the astral war?"

Ardyn sighed heavily and audibly over the pounding of Chocobo feet, "Yes, as I had it explained to me, there were few who knew those secrets to begin with and they all perished in the great fires of the Solheim capital…"

"Well, so much for that hope," Noctis muttered to himself.

Ardyn was not done yet though as he continued explaining, "There are still some pieces of Solheim's power remaining along with a few of the ancient and magically inclined families that managed to survive the fall and resulting wars, but we are so few now."

Before Noctis could ask what exactly he meant by magically inclined families there was a ear splitting and screeching yowl that sounded from directly above them. The reaction was instantaneous chaos as Ebony jumped into the air and streaked off for the glowing lights in the distance. Rose also took off at full speed before Noctis could get a good look at dark figure in the sky. No matter how he tried to turn her, Rose ignored his attempts and continued to get them out of danger, only turning her head once to give him a look that clearly said, " _are you stupid_."

Deciding she had a point, Noctis settled in and gave her free reign, trusting her to get them to safety. A great crash shook the ground behind them along with another earth shattering shriek as they got closer to the town. Only after they entered the town proper did Noctis let out a huge sigh of relief and was allowed to pull Rose to a stop in what was clearly the town center. The magical protections against beasts clearly worked on whatever it had been and so they had managed to outrun it, but just barely. Part of Noctis felt he should recognise that shriek, but he just couldn't remember which monstrosity it belonged to at the moment.

Ardyn was having a difficult time getting Ebony to settle down and Noctis knew enough not to try to help; he was likely to lose a hand instead if he did. Rose shook subtly underneath him, but with some gentle pets, she was becoming calmer by the second. Noctis knew that, in the past, some Chocobos had been trained for combat as war mounts. Looking at Ebony, it was clear she would never have been suited to that role, but Noctis felt a sort of pride in Rose's ability to keep her head in a crisis situation.

While Ardyn continued to work on calming Ebony, Noctis took the opportunity to look around Harenae. It was a little bigger than Galdin but nowhere near as nice to look at and the general vibe was slightly subdued. Twenty odd flat roofed buildings made up the whole of Harenae, and while most of them were houses, a few were obviously businesses. All of the walls were constructed from a packed clay material he recognized as one of the mineral underlays found in the area while digging. Most structures in his time had been made from brick, steel, concrete, but it made sense that it was too expensive to haul enough of the exotic materials all the way out here for a small trade town.

A light touch on his leg brought him out of his observations and he noticed that Ardyn had dismounted in order to snap Ebony out of her spooked mindset. "I would tell you where the The barn and inn are, but if cannot figure it out for yourself, I will be forced to reevaluate my impression of your intelligence once more."

"I don't see where you have room to talk when you're the one standing in bird shit," Noctis pointed out barely containing his laughter, "Might want to clean your boot once we get to the barn."

Ardyn looked down at his boot and the expression on his face caused Noctis to give up on controlling his laughter. At first Ardyn seemed determined to stay miffed at the situation, but eventually, he also started laughing uproariously. They probably looked quite the pair, two men in the street laughing their asses off, but there was a relief and lightening of the soul in that laughter. Gaining some control of himself Noctis pointed to the large two story buildings in the center of town. "Common, let's get the bird poop off your royal person and make you a little more presentable to your subjects before they see you."

Ardyn huffed and started walking towards the barn, reins firmly in hand as Ebony was still jumpy. As they passed homes Noctis noticed that the people of Haranae hadn't seemed bothered by the shrieks. No one was looking out their windows, or standing outside, and even the town guard hadn't seemed overly bothered. That was a lot of faith to be putting in magical protection, but he supposed it wasn't unexpected either. Noctis supposed it might have at least scared the inn's guests back to their families and homes at least to see if everyone was alright. However, as they came within audible range of the Tipsy Traveller it became crystal clear that, far from being disturbed by the nights events, the patrons were much more interested in imbibing in merriment.

Laughter and good music could be heard clearly from out in the street and as they entered the barn he could make out the words of the song. Some kind of ditty about a cactaur who fell in love with a coeurl. The singer had a good voice though and he was sure the song made more sense the more alcohol was passed around. Noctis had never been one to drink much before his death, having still been under aged when he fell into reflection. Tonight he felt a pint was justified and as a thirty year old man he was well within his rights to imbibe.

As they put their tired Chocobos into deeply bedded and well supplied stalls Noctis had to admit the barn was a fairly impressive structure, not in the sense that it was particularly decorative, but that it was very structurally grand. Eighteen foot ceilings soared to a single point roof with an open second floor that he guessed held stored greens for the Chocobos. It was the only structure he had seen with an metal support system instead of formed plaster and wooden frames. He wouldn't be surprised if the inn turned out to be the same, in event of a natural disaster, these two buildings would likely provide refuge for the entire town.

As he gave one last pat the Rose before gingerly walking out of her stall, cursing his aching muscles and knee, a thought occurred to him in regards to the night ahead. Turning to face Ardyn who was finally and thoroughly cleaning his shoe he asked, "How much is it per night in the Tipsy Traveler and how fairly are their food and drink priced?"

Noctis was always keeping in mind how much certain costs were going to drain his purse; not that he actually had a purse per say. Thankfully, everything he had stashed in the ether had come with him when he had time traveled. Which had mercifully included all his Gil, his fishing rod, his cell phone for what it was worth, a few of Prompto's pictures, some curatives he would save as they didn't exist in this time yet, and all of his favorite weaponry. With over 500,000 Gil on him he wasn't hurting for cash, but Ignis had still managed to instill a sense of frugality in him over their adventure together out of the road.

Ardyn for his part looked oddly surprised at Noctis' question, but nevertheless answered his query. "The Traveler is very reasonable at only a hundred Gil per night and the food costs, whilst more expensive than other establishments, is very good quality. Their drinks make up for the inflated food cost and you cannot find less expensive alcohol for over a hundred miles in any direction. Yet I must ask, why do you wish to know this?"

Confused by the countered question Noctis stated in a tone that said the answer should have been obvious, "Because I want to know how much it's going to cost me the next couple days, it's worth it not to sleep at camp, but I've been taught to keep up with how much Gil I've spent."

Ardyn was silent for a long moment before finally answering, "While I am aware that you are capable of paying for yourself, I would ask that an exception be made in light of the fact that this is my quest which you have graciously agreed to aid me in. Please, at least allow me to purchase our first proper meal on this fine adventure together and the beds for us to sleep upon tonight."

Noctis chewed on my cheek thoughtfully, if he had one fault he could openly admit, it was that his pride got in the way an awful lot. Yet Ardyn had seemed to recognize this and had still made a good argument for having him pay, at least for tonight. Letting out a heavy sigh Noctis threaded his fingers through his dirt encrusted hair and said, "I don't know…"

A smirk lifted the corners of Ardyn's mouth as he threw away the thoroughly soiled rag he had been using. "Oh come now, surely you can at least give me this and besides, it sounds as though you have been through hell these last 48 hours. A few drinks, some good food, some conversation, and a warm bed is the least I can do to perhaps provide you with some comfort."

Noctis felt heat suffuse his cheeks once more and he silently cursed this new habit of his as he tucked his chin to his chest in embarrassment. Ardyn waited patiently though, that damnedly soft smile lifting his lips and making him feel very warm and oddly relaxed. "Alright," Noctis said in a rush of held air, "But only under one condition."

Ardyn met his eyes and said. "What condition might that be?"

"Call me Noct unless we are talking about serious matters, that's what my friends used to do and I do consider you a friend." Noctis said with a shrug, turning away to face the open barn door.

He didn't get a chance to make for the exit as a hand descend upon his shoulder and Ardyn spoke close to his ear, "I would be honored to call you Noct and I accept your condition readily, "Removing his hand from Noctis shoulder, Ardyn shot him another warm and genuine smile, "Now, let us go enjoy those small comforts while we can."

Not being one to argue about down time, Noctis followed Ardyn's striding form outside and into the inn next door. His immediate impression was that the music was too loud, smoke filled the room from half a dozen lit cigars, and uproarious laughter seemed to be prevalent, but it wasn't really any different in those senses to the nightclubs he had occasionally gone to back home. Besides it was warm in here, well lit by actual lights, and the architecture was just as impressive as the barns had been.

Ardyn touched his elbow lightly to get his attention and spoke once more in his ear, "It will die down in half an hour once the bard leaves and then Alisha, the owner, usually kicks everyone else out in another half hour. Unless they are staying here that is and even then curfew is enforced, so we shall not be bothered over much."

Noctis nodded in acknowledgement and together they made their way through the crowded room to find a small table along one wall. The chairs were comfortable and Noctis sank gratefully into one, wincing at the bruising of his back side, but at the same time grateful to take his weight off abused muscles. Ardyn's smirk spoke volumes about what he was thinking and Noctis sent him a rather baleful glare in response to the unspoken teasing. When his glare was met by a resolutely unbothered yawn Noct rolling his eyes and gestured towards Ardyn's personal bag of belongings, "You might as well pull out your map so I can mark these potential areas for profit, one of them will be of great importance to this town I believe."

Ardyn's amber eyes quickly lit up in excitement, but before he could say anything, a rather beautiful woman had made her way up to their table. She had long blond hair pulled up in a messy bun and soft facial features that seemed to light up the room. However, privately, Noctis thought that most of those facets of her beauty were likely overlooked my most men due to a certain other aspect of her physique. Her breasts were enormous and he was pretty sure they rivaled Cindy's, which was enough to turn any head in the room with an eye for romance or lust.

In fact, once she spoke, her accent made him wonder if she wasn't some kind of ancestor to Cindy. "Well if it ain't his majesty come to see us again and with some fine lookin company this time. Izunia and Gil stay home fer once did they?"

The similarity was almost enough to make him laugh, but he forced his snigger into a cough and managed to focus on Ardyn's response instead of the unhelpful correlations he was making mentally. "I am afraid they did indeed, Alisha, much to their disappointment I assure you. I am leaving for a long journey, this time with my friend Noctis, and it simply would not have been possible for them to join us. Izunia had to remain and do some real work, for once, because Gil is gone on a training trip and someone needed to stay and look after the army. Although, if I am to be honest, Kilff is likely doing most of the work whilst Izu moans ever on about the lack of excitement in his life."

Alisha smiled brilliantly and laughed, "I can just see Izu pacein now, better do somethin quick, buuut at least Kilff is there. Although he's probably wishin Gill were there with em right about now. Anyway, what can I be getten for you boys this evenin? I personally recommend the pot roast as it'll put some warmth back in yer souls, pairs well with the really nice apple brandy we got in too."

At Ardyn's questioning look, Noctis nodded hastily and said, "That sounds amazing, thank you miss Alisha."

"Indeed," Ardyn added with a nod of his own, "I believe we shall take your recommendation my dear and have a flagon of brandy each to pair with.

"I'll be right out with it as soon as Xavier finishes maken a fresh batch of biscuits," Alisha said and walked off with a wave, no doubt heading to let the chef know he had more orders to fill.

As soon as she was out of earshot Ardyn said nonchalantly, "You find her form pleasing? She is not spoken for…"

Noctis was more than a little taken aback by the statement and the slight under tone of bitterness it held, after a moment though he managed to say, "What? No, I uh! While I'll admit she is good looking and whoever gets her in the end will be a lucky man, I'm not here to look for someone to date."

Confusion replaced the feigned look of disinterest and Ardyn asked, "This term, dating… is it the same thing as courting?"

"Ah, yeah it is, no one really uses the word courting anymore in my time, but I guess I'll try to remember to use it," Noctis said and decided it was time to get off the subject of his nonexistent love life, "So, should I look over that map now?"

Ardyn nodded curtly and pulled out the map he had seen earlier with a flourish, "I must write to Izunia as well, so if you would forgive my momentary lack of attention, I will take this moment to pen a letter to him while you mark places on the map. I will be assigning him the task of looking into harvesting these meteor shards so he may stop driving our younger sibling into insanity. We may not know how the technology works, but we can hopefully restore and maintain what is left of it."

"Yeah, sounds like a good idea to me." Noctis assured him with a smile, "It might take me a little bit to finish this anyway."

Ardyn smiled back at him brightly and pulled out a sheet of parchment along with an inkwell and two quills, one for each of them. Noctis hesitated at the sight of the feathered writing utensil, but picked it up anyway, determined to do his best with the unfamiliar tool and not give Ardyn an opportunity to tease him further. Dipping the end into the ink he bent over the map and, upon roughly finding the location of the Balouve mines, he placed the end on the map to write out the name. However, as soon as the end touched the map it was like a flood gate opened and all the ink rushed out to stain the map.

Cursing colorfully, Noctis looked up at Ardyn and felt a sinking sensation in his stomach at the smirk that played about the man's mouth. "As obvious and clear as your mark might be I must insist on a slightly more refined and less messy approach for the further locations if you don't mind. By the way, I would hold the quill at a slight angle going forward, it should help your increase your success rate exponentially."

Noctis rolled his eyes heavily and glared at the quill. "I'll try to keep that in mind, should the opportunity present itself, remind me to introduce you the complexities of a cell phone."

Ardyn didn't even look up from his letter ss he answered, "As we currently cannot even manage lights in most of our cities to keep the Daemons at bay I doubt such a event will occur any time soon. However, you must master the art of writing with a quill which even Solheim still used, I haven't the slightest what writing implement you are used to, but we obviously do not have it."

Before Noctis could make a retort, Alisha came back to their table with a heavily laden tray. "Alrighty boys, sorry to interrupt, but here's your food to chase the chill out of them bones of yours."

"My deepest gratitude to you Alisha, we will also be staying for two nights so allow me to pay you now," Ardyn said with a respectful incline of his head as he handed her a total of 450 Gil which seemed to confuse Alisha until he said, "I also have a letter that will need delivered to Dominum if you think Nuntius would be willing to take it, that is what the additional 150 Gil is for."

"Well I can sure ask him hun and he might do it for you, but I wouldn't go betten on it," Alisha said with a tone full of uncertainty, "Word is he went an got attacked by something on his last rout, recovered just fine, but he hasn't been out since."

Ardyn looked troubled, but nonetheless bent down and finished the last few lines of his letter before handing it to Alisha. "Please do ask him, this is a highly important missive that must reach Izunia quickly."

Alisha nodded slowly, "You have my word I'll do my darndest to talk Nuntius into taking a job once again."

After she walked away a troubled expression tightened Ardyn's features. With his free hand, Noctis reached out and took one of Ardyn's hands in his; squeezing it comfortingly. "Don't worry too much about it, we don't know his answer for certain and until then let's stay hopeful."

Letting out a deep sigh, Ardyn's face softened considerably and as warm amber eyes locked with his Noctis felt heat rush through his body. That in of itself was odd enough, but as the heat pooled in a particularly neglected area Noctis became painfully aware of just how sexually pent up he must be if he was reacting to Ardyn. It wasn't the first time he had found a male attractive, Ignis had even been the one to teach him how to jerk off initially when he was fifteen, but this was _Ardyn_ … not Ignis. Maybe he did need to find a quick bed partner… Gladio had slept with a few ladies before becoming soul bound to Ignis. Something about the idea just didn't feel right though...

Sighing heavily Noctis put down the quill and picked up his tankard of brandy, looking into the reddish brown liquid within before taking a sip. Noctis didn't have much to base the drink on, but the flavor was surprisingly sweet with a slightly bitter aftertaste that was somehow satisfying. As the alcohol burned its way down to his stomach, Noctis felt a calm settle over him. The heat in his loins was fading and he took his hand back for good measure after giving Ardyn's one more squeeze. He had a quill to figure out and a map to fill in so he couldn't allow himself to become distracted.

As he started back to work Noctis made the decision that, whatever the reason for his reaction, he was sure it wouldn't happen again. Noctis had lost his shot at happily ever after and his princess had died because he couldn't save her. He wouldn't let anyone be his rebound just because of hormones; that wasn't fair to them. Besides, he was technically dead and on a quest for Shiva, he couldn't afford to get side tracked by his libido of all things.

Ardyn leaned closer as he put the quill down and looked over the new places he had marked with keen interest. "I had suspected that these mountains might hold ore, but no one seemed to be prepared to believe me. Now, according to your initial ink blob and its description, there was a mine in this area?"

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts Noctis said, "Yeah, the Balouve Mines held some pretty serious jewels and precious metals but mostly you will find high grade metal ore in there. Including Ilmenite which can be forged onto a steal known as titanium; it is extremely strong and useful."

Ardyn's eyes lit up with excitement and he said, "I was very a young boy when I started helping my father in his forge and I am well aware of the different metal composites. To know there is a large deposit of Ilmenite waiting beneath our feet is worth is worth more than gold to me!" Quickly Ardyn put the map away in his bag and bowed to Noctis with a flourish of one hand out to the side. "Thank you, Noct, Once we reach the city of Iduna I will give this map to one of my mentors, Asura, he will know what to do with it from there."

"Right… good," Noctis said distractedly. The thought of Ardyn's amber eyes, lit up by the fires of a forge, lean muscles flexing gracefully, and nimble fingers wielding a hammer with deadly accuracy flashed into his mind… it was enough to make his face flush and his very neglected friend below stir to life with a twitch. Biting his lower lip Noctis let out a long breath of air and shook his head, this was getting ridiculous. He had been pent up before, but nowhere near this badly.

Ardyn's features shifted into one of concern and he asked, "Are you alright, Noct? You look really flushed and uncomfortable…"

"I'll be alright… just… tired and sore after today is all." Noctis lied, not meeting those eyes that were too attractive for their own good. Taking a bite of his food he steered the subject away from himself. "So you grew up doing blacksmith work? How does a blacksmith come to a decision to just unite a portion of a shattered empire under a new name and become her king?"

For a moment, Ardyn looked like he was going to pursue the previous topic, then he relented and chuckled quietly before countering his question. "Why did you sacrifice yourself, agree to become a messenger for divinity, and travel 2000 years in the past to teach a man you hardly knows; except, possibly, from history books? Somehow I think our answers are one in the same."

"Because I couldn't let those around me continue to suffer when I had the power to do something about it. I have been given a chance to better the future and I won't take that for granted." Perhaps his answer was simple, but all the more honest for it.

Leaning back in his chair Ardyn made a 'well there have it' motion with his left hand and grabbed his brandy with the other to take a drink. "We are united in the love of Lucis and our people. I saw a possibility to create a better future than what was taking shape around me and chose to take that opportunity. My healing abilities, battle training, intellect, and blacksmith skills gave me that chance and I have spent the last ten years giving hope to a new nation. We are both working towards the same goal, one that only we kings of Lucis can possibly understand."

They finished the meal in silence, both deep in thought, then Alisha broke the silence by coming over with their room key for the night and said, "I'm closing down the bar for the night real soon, so might there be anything else I can help y'all with? Need some refills?"

Taking the proffered key Ardyn smiled at the Innkeeper and said, "Not tonight Alisha, we will retire to our room soon, thank you as always for your hospitality and increasingly fine company."

Alisha smiled widely and said, "Better watch that silver tongue of yours your highness, it might just get you attention of the sort you ain't lookin for casually."

"What are a few honeyed words between childhood friends I might ask you? Surely you cannot be blind to the attention your patrons lavish you with each night, perhaps I merely felt a bit left out," Ardyn said with an over exaggerated sigh and an all too innocent pout.

Alisha turned to look at Noctis and said, "Whatever you did ta deserve travelen with this jester, my condolences to ya hun. Good luck keepin him in line, Astrals know no one else has managed to." Walking away from them she waved over to the stairwell at the back of the Inn, adding, "I imagine you can find your own room so sleep tight and I'll see y'all for breakfast come mornin. I should have an answer from Nuntius too for better or worse."

Ardyn chuckled as he stood and said quietly, "Forgive my lack of manners, but she always has been irresistibly fun to tease."

Noctis rolled his eyes and stood up as well, "Somehow I got the impression she is used to your antics."

He followed Ardyn back towards the stairs as the man said with obvious amusement, "As well she should be for we have known one another for over a decade now and I'm afraid I must admit to having been much worse in my early youth."

The hallway which led to all the rooms was dimly lit but well cared for and as they stopped in front of door seven Noctis muttered, "Well, at least you gained some maturity as you aged, although from her parting statement to me I get the feeling it wasn't nearly enough as some would have liked."

Ardyn snorted and shook his head as they entered the room and said, "War is a curious and malevolent force that causes even the greatest of fools to become men eventually. I must admit, I am not the same man I was before I walked onto its sordid fields to face my fellow fools."

Noctis wasn't sure how to respond to that, but a deep ache settled into his chest at the thought of Ardyn, standing amongst the bodies of other warriors, clinging to the remnants of who he was before the carnage of battle… Trying to distract himself from those thoughts, he took in their room properly and was pleasantly surprised to see that it was rather comfortable looking. Off to the side was a washroom that Noctis fully intended to take advantage of come morning and the floors had thick rugs placed strategically across the floor so as to provide a warm walking path. Both twin mattresses looked to be filled with Chocobo feathers if the few poking out of small holes were anything to judge by and the blankets looked soft rather than simply being scratchy wool or linen. Wasting no more time, Noctis strode forward and fell onto one of them with a relieved groan of contentment..

Ardyn looked torn for a moment but then climbed into his separate bed slowly with a deep sigh. "Good night, Noctis; today has been a good day for already you have given me tools to better Lucis and hope for defeating the menace that plagues us."

Shrugging, Noctis shuffled into a better position and said, "We share the same goal, remember? I am glad to help in any way I can and I promise things will get better for Lucis. You've done so much… let another King help you shoulder the burden for a while."

For a moment nothing could be heard except their breathing and then Ardyn whispered, "Thank you…"

Everything fell silent once more in the room and Noctis figured he would fall asleep pretty quickly considering all that had happened that day. However, after what felt like an hour had passed, Noctis found he just couldn't sleep. No matter how comfortable the mattress was he just could not relax enough for sleep to take him… he almost felt alone, but… Ardyn was still in the room with him so he wasn't really alone. It had been eleven years since he last had the luxury of a bed to himself and he wanted to make the most of it… but… perhaps that was the problem. Even in hotels he had always needed to share with Prompto and gradually his warmth and company had become a important source of comfort to him. Looking over at Ardyn he noticed the man was still awake and watching him quietly, beautiful amber eyes almost obscured by loose strands of soft auburn hair, his companion made to say something but Noctis shook his head.

Letting out a long breath Noctis swung out of his bed and walked over to Ardyn's, meaning to ask if he would mind sharing, but the man was already smiling and made room for him without a word. Settling himself down, his back pressed against Ardyn's chest in the small bed, Noctis felt tension leave the man and a sigh of contentment left them both. "He could feel himself drifting when he mumbled what was on his mind, "You know, you really are a handsome guy and a warm bed buddy, your wife is one very lucky woman whoever she is."

He heard Ardyn's breath hitch slightly and when the man spoke again it wavered slightly. "What makes you think I have a wife? I can assure you I am unmarried with no plans to take a wife as I hold no attraction for the fairer sex I'm afraid. My heir will likely be produced with a selected woman out of convenience and she paid a handsome sum for it. What of you, surely you were married as handsome as you are, although I cannot imagine your death has done to her and any offspring you may have had."

Noctis snorted quietly and then sighed at the thought of Luna and what his death had probably meant to her… would she have agreed with his decision? Somehow… he felt she would have, but he had still left her alone again. "The only woman who ever mattered to me was Luna, my betrothed, but we never got married and I certainly don't have kids. She died helping me form the covenants in my time and I'll never consider marrying another woman. Luna… was it for me and I miss her terribly." His voice broke and two hot tears rolled down his cheeks.

Ardyn laid an arm across Noct's chest and pulled him to face him in an embrace. Soothing him and running his fingers through Noctis' hair, even as his own heart ached at Noctis words. He had come to feel a deep connection with this man over the last 24 hours that he could not express with words. He had a hunch that Noctis was the one he was looking for, the one he had prayed to find since he was a young boy, and if that was the case he refused to give up. "You are a man of great love, Noctis, "Ardyn whispered against Noctis' forehead, "There is room in your heart for another, I promise, you simply need to find the right one."

A little voice whispered in Noctis' mind that he already had, but instead of paying much mind to it, he snuggled in closer to Ardyn and fell asleep soon after. Feeling warmer and safer than he had since leaving insomnia over 10 years ago.


End file.
